Greg Hinz On Politics

Senate President Cullerton meets with Sears about keeping HQ here

The heads of Sears Holdings Corp. and the Illinois Senate met Tuesday to discuss what it would take to keep Sears headquarters here and, while no deal was struck, some progress was made.

According to both Sears and Senate President John Cullerton, the hour-long session took place at Sears' Hoffman Estates headquarters and involved company CEO Lou D'Ambrosio and other execs.

"We certainly want to encourage them to stay in Illinois," Mr. Cullerton said in a brief phone conversation afterward. "We discussed all of the factors determining where a company should locate."

Mr. Cullerton said Mr. D'Ambrosio specifically asked for help in passing a bill, which already has cleared the House, that would allow Hoffman Estates to extend the life of a special taxing district that subsidizes Sears' headquarters complex. Mr. Cullerton said he agreed "to facilitate a vote on that bill" when the Legislature meets for its veto session in October.

Mr. Cullerton said the company promised to give a somewhat longer request list later. He said he's inclined to help, "but it depends on the details."

Sears released a statement saying it has "begun to have conversations with elected officials in Illinois and elsewhere" and thanking Mr. Cullerton "and other Illinois lawmakers (who) have taken the time to visit our campus and talk about Sears Holdings' significance to the state."

Sears and its predecessor firms have had their headquarters in the Chicago area for almost 125 years. The company has 20,000 employees in the state, and said it paid a total of $213 milion last year in taxes in Illinois.

Mr. Cullerton earlier this summer met with the head of CME Group Inc. about its threats to leave the state unless it gets relief from the recently raised Illinois corporate income tax.

That meeting and other threats have prompted the House and Senate revenue committees to hold joint hearings about possible reform of the state's corporate taxes. The last of those scheduled hearings occurred earlier Tuesday.